Tesla wins approval to make test cars at its unfinished German gigafactory

Tesla has won approval to build test cars at its unfinished German gigafactory, reports Tagesspiegel. This approval comes as the electric vehicle manufacturer continues to wait for the final permission for the project. However, Tesla will not be allowed to sell these electric cars.

Tesla can test as many as 2,000 electric vehicles at the under-construction gigafactory outside Berlin. Previously, it was approved to test up to 250 electric vehicles by the German authorities.

The construction progress at the new Tesla plant in the small town of Gruenheide has been slower than hoped, with backlash from environmental groups concerned about water use and wildlife postponing the start of production by several months. Germany’s Economy Ministry estimates that Tesla is investing around 5 billion euros in Gruenheide.

This is going to be the US auto manufacturer's first gigafactory in the European continent. This factory is expected to cater to the European market, where Tesla has been witnessing increasing demand. Also, this plant would export cars to other markets as well.

Tesla's Berlin factory will produce Model Y cars initially. Later on, it will also produce other models. Besides that, Tesla will also manufacture batteries and powertrains for its electric vehicles at this gigafactory, Elon Musk said previously.

The Tesla German gigafactory comes as the second such manufacturing plant for the automaker outside the US. The first gigafactory outside the US was the one set up in China that currently produces Model 3 and Model Y for not only the Chinese market but several other countries as well. Setting up this factory in China has helped Tesla to ramp up its overall global production capacity substantially. This has helped the automaker to post a record number of sales as well.